Gun circuit tester



Oct. 8, 1957 D. M. BUETER GUN CIRCUIT TESTER 4 Filed Dec. 24', 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DONALD BUETER ATTORNE-Y Filed Dec. 24, 1956 7 bet. 8, 1957 D. M. BUETER GUN CIRCUIT TESTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. DONALD M. BUETER ATTORNEY i 2,809,347 Patented Oct. .8 195.7

This invention pertains to a gun-circuit tester andmore particularly to a device testing 'the ,c i'rcuit'for a gunprovided "with a rotary cartridge-receivingrurum closely It is' necessary at fre uent" intervals t'o check' the. circuit to the firing,pin ofan automatic -gun to assure'that the art that-a cbntactrnayibe'madewitb the'firinggpinof the gun connecting to a suitable fele'ctrical indicating means to providean'indication when'thecircuit to the firing pin is intact. There-a1; problem "with this 'type of ,gun te'sting is in the "difiiculty of making contact'with the'firing pin after the gun 'h'as been fully assembled, and also after installation insuch 'a' location 'as'the 'gunbays of an aircraft. In the priorart such testing Wasfrequently accomplislied by' inserting a contact device .down the barrel of "agun to engage't'hefiringpin. This at'best is a'n'awkward solution 'ofthe problem. "In oneinstancefor.afproducinches long for insertion inthefgunbaifrhto"contact'the "firin'gip'in. This obviously unwieldy device was di'fiicult to transport and 'liaridlejand relatively 'expens'iveto make "andimaintain. Furtlierm'or'e"thjere"was'no certainty with this 'type 'of" device when contact ha'd' actuall been made with the firin'g'pin.

Accordingly it is an "object'df this" invention to provide 'a compact easily manipulatedguncircuit tester. Another object of thisinvention' is torprovide ate'ster' usable on a gun which has been fully assembled and" installed for use. A further object ofinvention'istopfovidea' gun circuit tester of simple and economical construction. Yet anotherobject'of this invention isto provide 'a' gun circuit tester providing an improved and more 1 positive contact with the firing pin. These and otherobjects willfbecome apparent from the following-detailed"description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the tester of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the arrangement of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the end of the tester taken from the side opposite that of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the indexing means and the contact;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating use of the tester with a gun;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram of the gun tester circuit.

As illustrated in the drawing, and with particular reference to Figs. 1 through 4, the circuit tester of this invention includes a housing 1 provided with an indicating light 2 and a jack 3, the operation and purpose of which will be made more clear hereinafter. Extending from the housing is a first projecting member 4 which is in the form of a relatively short hollow tube. This member terminates at its outer end in an enlarged portion 5 which rovides a contact means for the tester. To that end,

United States Pfatentttfitice 2; within tubularimember .4 is an insulated .wire.6 having-1a central conductor7 .whichconnects toacontactmemher '8. ilhe contactis. insulated as. at 9.from the remainderof the .testerstructure.

.Additionally extending from the .housing is a ;second proj'ectingmeniber .12, the ,purpose.of which .is .to.index the .testing deviceandmaintain the: contact inJfirm engage- .ment :with-the-firingpin .of the .gun being .tested. There- .fore this .is a.fiat resilientmembeninthenature: of.alleaf spring. It extends parallel to member 4 and at itsinner end may be soldered or brazed to that member-as indi- ..cated .at. 13.

Member 12 terminates at .its outer end. in a rounded portion .14 .having rflattened sections .15 :and.16 fonclearance purposes. IEnd.14. includes a-.central axially; projectingportionlj which defines shoulder :18andlfiange .19. :Shoulder.18 .is dimensioned: to fitwithin. a cartridge-receiving-chamben in the .drum. of .agun to be tested. 111116118111- face 20 of end T4 of member 12.is.beveled as indicated .to permit .readyuse :and .removal of =the tester.

.Ina'ddition, theendportion-ofmember .12 is-provided with-a-rslothaving anelongated; portion. 21 and-a circular .portionr22. This..slot. is. designed;to-freelyxeceive mem- .ber -4 and contact: 5 upon-deflectionof member .12.

.The use .of the tester of thisfinventionmay be. seenby meferencedFigssS and i6. Hereihe testeris illustrated associated -with-.a;gun-24 having 2a:- rotatable 'drum. 25 provided with aa plurality of axially extending cartridge-re- .ceiving .ehambers 26. .The ammunition .feeding i mechanism .of the gun will insert the f cartridges into chambers .as the-drum rotates. .Afterbeing fully rammed home .the cartridge will be fired .by an electrical impulse Fat firing pint-28. =Aneje'ctor29 is alsoincluded with the-gun mechanism and used to eject the cases of theamm-unition after firing.

.-Itmay :be observed. that fixed structure .-31-and 32 of: the guntisdisposedimmediately adjacent rear. face 33 of the -.drum. leaving-zonly anarrow-annular; passage 34. between lthe fixed. and. movable portionsthereof. This passageway receives theeridportionszofthe cartridges. as they rotate around with-the drum. =Firing p-inn28ais locatedtso that it. projects into. passageway-.34 and-is in'alignment' with; a chamber 26 when the same. is. in. turm inr-alignment-with the gun barrel. for: firing of. the cartridge.

1The.-guntesteroflthis-invention isdesignedso that it will-fitwithin the. narrow-annular passage 34 abovefixed portions 31 .of -.the .gunand beneath fixedportions 32.

.-'As -.the" testerv is: inserted 1 into this narrow opening spring member 12 is deflected so that projecting member [4. and contact portion 5 are received Within the slots 21 and 22 in member 12; This permits movement of the tester to the position of Figs. 5 and 6 where it is in alignment with the firing pin and with an opening 26. When this occurs end portion 14 of member 12 automatically indexes and aligns the tester in the proper position so that contact 8 relatively short testing device which is automatically indexed and which provides positive contact with the firing pin. The necessity of extending a tester axially down the gun barrel is entirely eliminated.

With the tester in the position illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 the gun circuit may be very simply tested by depression of the trigger button in the pilots compartment which will light indicator 2 if the circuit is intact. The wiring arrangement by which this occurs may be seen in Fig. 7. Indicator light 2 connects on one side to ground and at the other connects through a resistor 36 to contact 8. The latter is in engagement with firing pin 28 which through conductor 37 extends to trigger switch 38 in the pilots compartment of the aircraft. A source of electrical power such as battery 39 completes the circuit. If desired in addition to the indicator light 2 there may be provided an ammeter 40 connected to jack 3 to give a dial reading of the current flow in the gun circuit.

The foregoing detailed description is to be understood as given by way of illustration and example, the spirit and scope of this invention being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A gun circuit tester comprising an elongated structure for association with an assembled gun adjacent the firing pin thereof, said structure including electrical circuit indicating means on one end thereof, and contact means on the other end thereof, said structure including indexing means for engagement with portions of a gun to position said contact in firm contacting engagement with the firing pin of such a gun.

2. A gun circuit tester comprising a housing, a first projecting member extending therefrom, said first projecting member having a hollow construction and including contact means on the outer end thereof, a second pro jecting member extending from said housing in substantial parallelism with said first projecting member, said second projecting member being in the form of a deflectable leaf spring, said second projecting member includ ing index means at the outer end thereof for engagement with the drum of a gun with which said tester is associated for positioning said contact means at a firing pin of such a gun while said second projecting member is deflected to exert a force maintaining said contact means in firm engagement with said firing pin for testing of the circuit of said gun.

3. A gun circuit tester comprising a housing, a first I projecting member extending therefrom, said first projecting member including a contact at the outer end thereof, a second projecting member extending from said housing, said second projecting member being of resilient detlectable construction and including index means on the outer end thereof for positioning said projecting members between a cartridge-receiving aperture and a firing pin of a gun with which said tester is associated, and aligning said contact with such a firing pin with said second projecting member deflected for maintaining said contact in firm engagement with such firing pin, said housing including electrical circuit indicating means connected with said contact for indicating an electrical circuit to the firing pin of such a gun.

4. In combination with a gun having a rotatable drum provided with axially extending cartridge-receiving apertures therein, and a firing pin in fixed structural portions closely spaced from the rear face of said drum, a gun circuit tester comprising a housing, a rigid projecting member extending from said housing, said projecting member including a contact at the outer end thereof, a resilient projecting member extending from said housing in substantial parallelism with said rigid projecting member, said resilient projecting member including index means for engagement with said drum at said rear face within a cartridge-receiving aperture for aligning said contact with said fiiring pin, said projecting members being dimensioned with respect to said fixed portions and said drum for causing said resilient member to be deflected when so associated with said drum for thereby maintaining said contact in firm engagement with said firing pin.

5. A device as recited in claim 4 in which said index means includes an axially extending portion dimensioned to fit Within said cartridge-receiving aperture, and a flange around said axially extending portion for engaging the rear face of said drum.

6. A device as recited in claim 4 in which said resilient projecting member includes slot means remote from said housing dimensioned to receive said first projecting member when said members are so associated with said gun and said resilient member is caused to deflect.

7. In combination with a gun having a rotatable drum means provided with cartridge-receiving apertures therein, and a firing pin closely spaced from said drum means, a gun circuit tester comprising a support member, contact means on one end of said support member, conductor means extending through said support member, electrical 7 indicating means on the other end of said support member for indicating a completed electric circuit, a spring member substantially in parallelism with said support member, said spring member being attached to said support member remote from said contact means, said spring member having indexing means for engagement with said drum means at a cartridge-receiving aperture therein for thereby positioning said contact means at said firing pin, said spring member including slot means therein dimensioned to receive said support member and said contact means when said tester is so associated with a gun for thereby exterting a spring force maintaining said contact means in firm engagement with said firing pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

